My initial listening post was a diner in Liberty City called MLK Diner/Restaurant.
When I went to the Martin Luther King parade a couple of weeks back, I was in the car my with classmates and we drove down Martin Luther King Blvd and saw a huge amount of listening post possibilities. The streets were packed with people, though, so everything really seemed like a hangout spot. It was one giant block party with apartment buildings vibrating and shaking from the walls of speakers laid out across the complex lawns. People walking all over the place in groups, leaning against the walls of the random meat markets and cornerstores scattered throughout MLK blvd.
I spotted MLK Diner on MLK blvd and 27th Ave, and it seemed pretty quaint and old. Looked like it had a lot of history and regulars. It was perfect. I also passed by a cornerstore that had a lot of people walking in and out of it. Again, it was MLK day so it could've been just a special day with lots of rushes.
So I chose a day in the week where my schedule allowed me to go to MLK Diner. I chose Tuesday before class at 11:30 a.m. I drove to Liberty City and I'm already a little scared. Really scared actually. I had been the there days before but that was different. It was a parade and people had different attitudes. This was a Tuesday morning where people came out to eat and such. Only thing I was looking forward to was eating some food because I was hungry.
I parked in the parking lot and I'm so scared. My main worry is having my car broken into. I don't know why this is in the back of my mind. But it is.
I walk inside and there's really nobody in there. I saw some people in the tables. Two men were having their breakfast at one table and there was an old man sitting at another table reading the paper and drinking coffee. I was terrified. It didn't really seem like a hangout, honestly. People just minding their own business. How do I initiate a hangout with random strangers at a restaurant?
I started putting myself in their position and played the scenario in my head. I'd feel uncomfortable with someone coming up to my table.
I walked out. I went back to my car and drove out. I didn't really think this was a hangout. Maybe it was just a slow time of the day?
I drove to the market a couple of streets down to check out if it was a hangout. I parked my car and over yonder are a group of Black men just hanging around. I get out of my car and walk into the market. Nobody really hanging out. I think I'm gonna have to walk over to that group.
But I was just too scared to do it.
I'm going to check out MLK Diner at a later hour and see how it checks out. It could be more a hangout at a later or more early time.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Monday, January 18, 2010
Journal #1
Well, this is my first journal for Multi-Ethnic Reporting. I believe Professor Reisner told us to write these things as if they were diaries, so I guess I should get more comfortable.
One of the things I really like about this class, honestly, is the fact that we're addressing racial stereotypes and the idea that "political correct-ness" should be left at the door. Yet, when I come to class, I still feel uncomfortable talking about that sort of thing because of our diverse set of students. I mean I don't want to offend people and I definitely don't want people to hate me because of something ignorant I said, or will say.
The first session had the professor talking about stereotypes such as whether or not Black people get sunburn, or whether all Asians are smart and good at math. One guy in the back of the class was whispering to his friend during the professor's famous All-Time Favorite Mistake story (one of many stories I've heard more than once). Reisner made the guy tell everyone what the whisper was about, and the guy was talking about a stereotype that had to do with Asian women and whether their vaginas were slanted. I laughed, mainly because I have never heard that stereotype in my life and I found it to be absolutely ridiculous.
It's that kind of thing that had me and the entire class feeling a bit more comfortable about the topic of discussion.
One of the links the professor posted on the listserv was Harvard's Implicit Association Test, a test designed to uncover one's "unconscious biases". I was pretty curious as to how it worked, so I decided to take it. There were many test options, each designed to challenge a different bias. I chose the one dealing with race.
The test is a little deceiving, man. It's a bit complicated to explain, but my results showed that I prefer people of European descent than I do to people of African descent. What bugs me about this test is that it deals more with your reflexes and concentration than it does with things like ignorance or discrimination. But, I already knew, beforehand, that I feel more comfortable around people of European descent than African. So I was kinda like "duh".
In our most recent class session, we watched the film Barbershop, which is such a funny, watchable film. Though, the film suffers from some meandering subplots, it's still pretty great. But, this isn't a film class and I'm sure nobody gives a crap about my Barbershop film critique. The point of the viewing was to show that every place has a history, and that hangout like the barbershop is a place filled with characters and key-players of the community. These are places people go to to talk about politics, sports, neighborhood gossip and the world. These are the best places for listening posts.
-ryan
One of the things I really like about this class, honestly, is the fact that we're addressing racial stereotypes and the idea that "political correct-ness" should be left at the door. Yet, when I come to class, I still feel uncomfortable talking about that sort of thing because of our diverse set of students. I mean I don't want to offend people and I definitely don't want people to hate me because of something ignorant I said, or will say.
The first session had the professor talking about stereotypes such as whether or not Black people get sunburn, or whether all Asians are smart and good at math. One guy in the back of the class was whispering to his friend during the professor's famous All-Time Favorite Mistake story (one of many stories I've heard more than once). Reisner made the guy tell everyone what the whisper was about, and the guy was talking about a stereotype that had to do with Asian women and whether their vaginas were slanted. I laughed, mainly because I have never heard that stereotype in my life and I found it to be absolutely ridiculous.
It's that kind of thing that had me and the entire class feeling a bit more comfortable about the topic of discussion.
One of the links the professor posted on the listserv was Harvard's Implicit Association Test, a test designed to uncover one's "unconscious biases". I was pretty curious as to how it worked, so I decided to take it. There were many test options, each designed to challenge a different bias. I chose the one dealing with race.
The test is a little deceiving, man. It's a bit complicated to explain, but my results showed that I prefer people of European descent than I do to people of African descent. What bugs me about this test is that it deals more with your reflexes and concentration than it does with things like ignorance or discrimination. But, I already knew, beforehand, that I feel more comfortable around people of European descent than African. So I was kinda like "duh".
In our most recent class session, we watched the film Barbershop, which is such a funny, watchable film. Though, the film suffers from some meandering subplots, it's still pretty great. But, this isn't a film class and I'm sure nobody gives a crap about my Barbershop film critique. The point of the viewing was to show that every place has a history, and that hangout like the barbershop is a place filled with characters and key-players of the community. These are places people go to to talk about politics, sports, neighborhood gossip and the world. These are the best places for listening posts.
-ryan
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